Just Baseball Highlight Reel: April 22, 2022

Miguel Cabrera’s chase for 3,000 hits was put on hold once again as the Tigers and Rockies got rained out in Detroit. That left 14 other games on the schedule and there was plenty of good action to go around. From Mookie Betts and Aaron Judge shining, to late drama in the desert, it’s all right here in your Just Baseball Highlight Reel for Friday, April 22nd.

Dodgers 6, Padres 1

This series made all the headlines last year but it just does not have the same feel without Fernando Tatis Jr. The Pads had a 1-0 lead behind Nick Martinez going into the fifth, but Mookie Betts had something to say about that. He opened his account for the season with his first home run as he tries to turn around a rough start.

Later that same inning, Max Muncy gave the Dodgers the lead with a solo shot of his own. He went 2-for-3 with a homer and two walks on the night, the prototypical Max Muncy game. He also extended the Dodgers lead with a two-run single in the seventh.

The Dodgers added another in the seventh, then Mookie went deep again for his second of the year. The great ones can wake up in a flash, and Betts may have just turned his season on in a single game.

Mets 6, Diamondbacks 5

After the D-Backs took a 1-0 lead in the third, the Mets tied it up in the fourth then opened up a four run lead by scoring two runs in both the sixth and seventh. It was capped off by the longest home run of the night from James McCann.

Arizona did not go away, and scored runs in the seventh, eighth and ninth to force extras. Daulton Varhso tied the game with a home run to right field off Edwin Díaz.

In the 10th, Starling Marte showed why he was brought to New York by beating out an infield single with two outs to bring in the go-ahead run. He was initially called out, but the call was overturned after review and it gave New York the lead. The D-Backs got the tying run on, but Seth Lugo held them off the board with two strikeouts and a pop out to end the game. The win moves the Mets to 11-4, even with the Dodgers at 10-3 for the best record in the league.

Yankees 4, Guardians 1

Aaron Judge had an interesting beginning to the season after extension talks fell apart with the Yankees. He quickly had to focus up for a contract year and things have not gone great the first two weeks. However, tonight could be a tipping point as he put together his first multi-homer game of the year. His first one came in the third and gave New York a 2-0 lead.

Cleveland got one back in the fourth to make it 2-1 on a home run by Franmil Reyes, his second in as many days. The Yankees answered right back in their half of the fourth to get the lead back up to two. Judge put a stamp on it, going deep again in the fifth to make it 4-1 Yankees. And before you say anything, this is a home run in 24 ballparks.

Phillies 3, Brewers 2

Hey look at that, the Phillies won a low-scoring game!

Bryce Harper is slowly getting going, and picked up his fifth double of the year to take a 1-0 lead in the first.

Just as it looked like Freddy Peralta would get roughed up again, he settled in and kept the Phillies off the board the rest of his outing. He finished with five one-run innings, allowing just three hits and two walks while striking out six.

Milwaukee manufactured a couple runs in the third and seventh to take a 2-1 lead, but in the eighth Philadelphia took it back. Alec Bohm is on a heater to start the year and has to be loving life in Philly right now. He gave the Phillies a win in this one with a two-run single in the eighth.

Twins 2, White Sox 1

Michael Kopech and Andrew Vaughn are going to be very unhappy after this one. Kopech twirled an absolute gem, pitching five shutout innings of three-hit ball while striking out seven. Vaughn gave his team a 1-0 lead with a home run and it seemed to be all they needed behind a great pitching performance.

However, baseball is really weird sometimes. With the 1-0 lead holding up into the eighth, Carlos Correa gave his team the lead on whatever this is. I am not going to try and describe what happened here, other than telling you it gave the Twins the lead and the win. The Sox are not playing very good baseball, as seen in this clip that needs the Benny Hill theme music.

Blue Jays 4, Astros 3

Houston, we may have a problem. The Astros are 6-7 after they gave one away to Toronto tonight. They took a 3-0 lead in the third but gave it back pretty quickly, allowing a run in the fourth and two more in the fifth. Neither team scored again until the ninth, when the newest Blue Jay, Matt Chapman, came through with an RBI double to give Toronto the lead. Jordan Romano allowed two hits, but struck out three to close the deal in the ninth.

Red Sox 4, Rays 3

Both of these AL East rivals find themselves at 7-7 after 14 games. The Red Sox got two runs right off the jump in this one. Corey Kluber struggled, allowing 11 hits, but somehow managed to keep the damage to just four runs in five innings.

Wander Franco homered after the Sox took a two-run lead, but it was not enough for Tampa Bay. The Sox added two more in the third thanks to a homer by Rafael Devers, and that was all they needed. The Rays got a run apiece in the fifth and seventh, but got no closer and dropped the opener of this weekend set.

Giants 7, Nationals 1

It was all about the second inning in this one. San Francisco put up a seven-spot on Patrick Corbin and that was history. The Nationals southpaw is off to a terrible start this season, posting an 11.20 ERA. He made it through just 1 2/3, allowing seven runs on seven hits and three walks. Austin Slater blew the game open with a three-run homer to make it 4-0, and the Giants still had three more runs in them that inning.

Braves 3, Marlins 0

The Marlins have played three shutouts in a row and been on the wrong side in two of them. Kyle Wright was fantastic, going six shutout innings and striking out 11 Marlins along the way.

In total, Miami struck out 16 times. Jazz Chisholm Jr. was pinch hit for against a lefty again, something that is beginning to stew a lot of controversy in the 305. Matt Olson continued his heater with a two-run double that put the game out of reach.

Mariners 4, Royals 1

Seattle came into the season as a fan favorite and they have delivered. They are fun and very good, and that was on display Friday. Chris Flexen dealt seven strong innings, allowing just one run and striking out five. They did all their damage in the fourth inning, capped off by a two-run triple by Jared Kelenic. Eugenio Suárez had three hits, Julio Rodriguez had two including a double and JP Crawford also had two. The Royals lone run of the game came on Salvador Perez’s fifth home run of the season.

Orioles 5, Angels 3

Entering play Friday Bruce Zimmerman had not allowed an earned run in 2022. He gave up his first tonight on a two-run blast by Anthony Rendon, but kept the Angels in check. He allowed just three runs in five innings of work and struck out six, including this nasty strikeout of Shohei Ohtani. Just one of the O’s eight hits went for extra bases, but they manufactured five runs to take the win.

Rangers 8, Athletics 1

The Rangers do not win a lot but they sure can score. They put up another big number tonight and are tied for the league lead in runs scored with 69. They put up a five-spot in the second inning and three more in the ninth. The only answer the A’s had was a single run in the fourth. Sean Murphy continued his great start, picking up his seventh double on the season. Nate Lowe helped open up the big lead with this two-run homer.

Pirates 4, Cubs 2

The Cubs dropped their fourth in-a-row and second-straight to the Buckos. Stunningly, Pittsburgh has a better record than Chicago through 14 games. The Pirates took a 2-0 lead in the second, but the Cubs answered right back in their half with two runs of their own.

Pittsburgh tacked on a run in both the fourth and fifth innings to take a 4-2 lead. The go-ahead hit came on a home run by Michael Chavis. Chicago got the winning run to the plate in the ninth, but failed to cash in and Pittsburgh escaped with an all-important victory.

Cardinals 4, Reds 2

These are two NL Central teams that wear red and are going in completely different directions. The Cardinals are really good, the Reds are really bad. Cincinnati is now 2-12 on the season, having lost 10 in a row following tonight’s lifeless outing.

The Cardinals opened the scoring in the first on an error by Tommy Pham, got two more in the fourth, one more in the sixth and that was all they needed. The Reds got a run in each of the fifth and ninth innings. Hunter Greene was not any good, lasting just 3 1/3 and allowing three runs on four hits and four walks.